AP Photo
Evelyn Husband talks about her late husband, Rick Husband, space shuttle Columbia commander, after the unveiling of the Rick Husband statue, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004, at the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Amarillo, Texas. Husband and six other astronauts were killed Feb. 1 when the shuttle broke apart over Texas.

AP Photo
Pilot William McCool, 41, Navy commander from Lubbock, Texas, and father of three sons, who was one of the seven astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia, is seen in this undated handout photo from NASA. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts just 16 minutes before they were supposed to glide to ground in Florida.

AP Photo
Commander Rick Husband, 45, Air Force colonel from Amarillo, Texas, who was one of the seven astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia, is seen in this undated handout photo from NASA. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts just 16 minutes before they were supposed to glide to ground in Florida.

Atmos Energy provided $100,000 in seed money for the efforts in both cities, said Dan Alderson, Atmos manager of public affairs. Local sculptor Eddie Dixon has been tapped to do the McCool statue, said Dale Somers, McCool's longtime friend.

AP Photo

Evelyn Husband talks about her late husband, Rick Husband, space shuttle Columbia commander, after the unveiling of the Rick Husband statue, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004, at the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Amarillo, Texas. Husband and six other astronauts were killed Feb. 1 when the shuttle broke apart over Texas.

McCool, a 1979 Coronado High School graduate, and Husband, a 1980 Texas Tech graduate, were among seven astronauts who died when Columbia broke apart over Texas almost a year ago.

A bronze statue of Husband, an Amarillo native, was unveiled Monday at Rick Husband Ama ril lo International Airport.

Another statue of Husband will be placed in downtown Amarillo, with extra funds provided by the community.

Lubbock's effort is just around the corner.

"I think they're still trying to develop a location where it will end up at," Alderson said.

AP Photo

Commander Rick Husband, 45, Air Force colonel from Amarillo, Texas, who was one of the seven astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia, is seen in this undated handout photo from NASA. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts just 16 minutes before they were supposed to glide to ground in Florida.

Somers said a committee is ironing out details of a McCool statue in Lubbock.

"We're doing a really nice statue," he said.

Somers said the committee will meet with city officials in the coming weeks to further solidify plans.

"We don't even know for sure how much it's going to cost," he said. "That could be influenced by where we put it."

Almost a year after the Columbia disaster, McCool's legacy is stamped throughout Lubbock  especially at his alma mater, where he was a track star and an academic whiz.

The "Willie McCool Track and Field" was dedicated at Coronado in October in front of his parents, sisters, wife, son, classmates and friends. A sign with the name and the two logos of Col umbia's final mission face the track and 34th Street.

His high school class is planning a bust of McCool at the school.

AP Photo

Pilot William McCool, 41, Navy commander from Lubbock, Texas, and father of three sons, who was one of the seven astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia, is seen in this undated handout photo from NASA. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts just 16 minutes before they were supposed to glide to ground in Florida.

A scholarship also has been established in McCool's honor, and it was first awarded last spring.

After graduating from Coronado, McCool went to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated second in a class of 1,088 in 1983. After being a Navy pilot, he joined NASA in 1996.